Menswear Garment Having a Type of Athletic Support

ABSTRACT

(EN) The aim of the invention is to create a pair of men&#39;s boxer shorts ( 10 ), which are provided with a front part ( 11 ) and a rear part and with a band ( 14 ) running along the front pail and rear part, in which a certain support during wearing is made possible in the form of a type of athletic support. To this end, the inside of the front part ( 11 ) is provided with an insert part ( 30 ), which extends on both sides of its longitudinal center and which has a free edge ( 36, 37 ) each facing away from the longitudinal center. In addition, both free edges ( 36, 37 ) are united in or near the crotch area ( 17 ) while forming a trough-like area ( 39 ) by the lower area of the insert part ( 30 ).

The present invention relates to a menswear garment, in particular shorts, such as boxer shorts, as generically defined by the preamble to claim 1.

To make known men's shorts easy to wear, the shorts are formed of a single layer of fabric in both the front and back parts. Since such shorts, especially boxer shorts, are relatively wide in the leg and crotch area, many wearers find them unpleasant or uncomfortable to wear without underwear.

Shorts are also known, especially for sports and swimming, whose back and front parts are provided with an insert inside, in the form of an inner pair of underpants attached only to the waistband; however, the meshlike insert part, in terms of how it is cut, is embodied somewhat like a conventional pair of underwear without an athletic support, so that in this case the insert is used only as a second, inner layer for the shorts, so that even with lightweight fabrics, they will not be transparent if the bathing suit is wet, for instance. Many men find even these shorts unpleasant to wear, since such shorts lack any kind of athletic support and the effective hold that would provide, on the one hand, and on the other they are not lightweight and comfortable to wear.

The object of the present invention is to create a menswear garment, in particular shorts, such as boxer shorts, of the type defined at the outset, in which a certain hold while they are worn is made possible by a type of athletic support.

For attaining this object, in a menswear garment, in particular shorts, such as boxer shorts, of the type defined at the outset, the characteristics recited in claim 1 are contemplated.

By the provisions according to the invention, an insert part is created which is shaped somewhat like half of a pair of briefs, or in other words comprises only a front part, and which therefore, because of the resultant athletic support, offers the retention or hold that wearers often want, without losing the advantages of such shorts or boxer shorts, such as lightness and wearing comfort.

With the characteristics of claim 2, a fixation of the cuplike receptacle even in the free edge region on the front part is attained. It is practical to provide the characteristics in accordance with claim 3, which make the shorts comfortable to wear even in the front region or crotch area.

It is practical that in accordance with the characteristics of claim 4, the insert part begins at the waistband of the shorts. Because of the rounding of the waistband that occurs during wearing and because the free edges of the insert part are joined together, an advantageous shape which offers the correct hold and the applicable wearing comfort is attained in accordance with the characteristics of claim 5.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in accordance with the characteristics of claim 6, the insert part is formed of two identical insert pieces, arranged in mirror symmetry to one another, so that the front part is in a double layer only in the side regions and in the lowermost region. As a result, despite having this athletic support, the wearing comfort of the shorts that wearers expect is still preserved.

A practical variant in terms of production is obtained from the characteristics of claim 7.

The aforementioned embodiment with its variant offers the possibility, in accordance with the characteristics of claim 8, of providing a concealed fly in such shorts. This fly may be embodied in accordance with the characteristics of claim 9.

A further simplification in terms of production and an advantageous design of the cut are obtained in accordance with the characteristics of claim 10.

Further details of the invention can be learned from the ensuing description, in which the invention is described in further detail in terms of the exemplary embodiment shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1, in a front view partly in perspective, a pair of men's boxer shorts in a preferred exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2, an inside view of the front part of the men's boxer shorts of FIG. 1.

The menswear garment 10 shown in the drawing takes the form here of a pair of boxer shorts which in accordance with the invention is equipped with a kind of athletic support. It is understood that the provisions of the invention to be described hereinafter can find use not only with boxer shorts but in other kinds of shorts, such as men's long, lightweight summer shorts.

The boxer shorts 10, which are made from very lightweight fabric, have a front part 11 and a back part 12, which merge laterally in one piece with one another and are solidly connected at their upper edge 13 to a preferably longitudinally elastic encompassing waistband 14. The back part 12 is provided in the longitudinal center with an insert 16, which extends from the waistband 14 as far as the crotch area 17 of the box shorts 10, where it is connected or sewn to the front part 11.

The front part 11, somewhat outside its longitudinal center 28, is provided with a concealed fly 21, which has an inner button strip 22 with a central button 23 and an outer buttonhole strip 24 with a buttonhole 25. The two strips 22 and 24 cover one another over a range of several centimeters and are sewn both to the waistband 14 and to one another, in a lower region 26 at a certain distance from the crotch area 17.

The front part 11, on its inside, has an insert part 30, which extends to both sides of the longitudinal center 28 of the front part 11 or in other words of the boxer shorts 10. The insert part 30 comprises two pieces or insert pieces 31 and 32, which are cut and embodied identically and are disposed to both sides of the concealed fly 21. Both insert pieces 31 and 32 are connected or sewn to the waistband 14 at their upper end 33. Each inner longitudinal edge 34, facing toward the concealed fly 21 and extending parallel to it, is connected or sewn to the front part 11. The two insert pieces 31 and 32 each have a free longitudinal edge 36 and 37, respectively, which faces away from the concealed fly 21. These two free longitudinal edges 36 and 37, beginning at the waistband 14, each extend obliquely to the longitudinal center 28 in the direction of the crotch area 17. The two free longitudinal edges 36 and 37 run toward one another and are sewn to one another at their lower ends 38. Because of this cut, the two free longitudinal edges 36 and 37, when the box shorts 10 are being worn, extend toward one another, because of the curvature of the waistband 14, in such a way as to form a cuplike receptacle 39 in the connecting region 38′ of the insert pieces 31 and 32. In other words, this insert part 30 results in a shape approximately equivalent to a cup in longitudinal section. In this way, the cuplike receptacle 39 forms an athletic support on the inside of the boxer shorts 10, and the essential part of this athletic support 39 is located in a region just below the end of the concealed fly 21.

The connecting region 38 of the two free longitudinal edges 36 and 37 is connected to a point 41 of the front part 11 that is located approximately between the lower end of the concealed fly 21 and the crotch area 17. More precisely, this point 41 is located at a site of the inseam 42 extending in the longitudinal center 28. As a result, the crotch area or the side regions of the leg openings 18 and 19 are raised somewhat, which contributes to making the boxer shorts 10 light and comfortable to wear.

Since the two insert pieces 31 and 32 of the insert part are located to both sides of the concealed fly 21, the athletic support 39 is demarcated from the front part 11 of the boxer shorts 10 only to both sides of the concealed fly 21 and only there does it form a second layer.

In this way, a pair of boxer shorts 10 is created which is provided on the inside with an athletic support 39 shaped like half of a pair of briefs, comprising only a front part.

The material of the two insert pieces 31 and 32 differs from the lightweight material used for the boxer shorts 10 in that it is for instance softer and more absorbent. 

1-10. (canceled)
 11. A menswear garment, in particular shorts, such as boxer shorts, the garment comprising: a front part; a back part; an insert part; a crotch area; and a waistband having a longitudinal center extending along said front part and said back part, wherein: said front part is provided on the inside with said insert part, extending to both sides of the longitudinal center, which insert part has two free edges, each extending away from the longitudinal center; and said two free edges are joined together in or near said crotch area by the lower region of said insert part, forming a cuplike receptacle.
 12. The menswear garment as defined by claim 11, wherein: said cuplike receptacle, in the region where said free edges are joined together, is connected to a securing point near said crotch area.
 13. The menswear garment as defined by claim 12, wherein: said securing point is formed on a longitudinally extending inseam.
 14. The menswear garment as defined by claim 11, wherein: said insert part is connected at its upper end to said waistband.
 15. The menswear garment as defined by claim 11, wherein: said insert part is approximately the shape of a cup in longitudinal section or of a pair of briefs.
 16. The menswear garment as defined by claim 11 wherein: said insert part is formed of two identical insert pieces that are disposed symmetrically to the longitudinal center.
 17. The menswear garment as defined by claim 16, wherein: each insert piece, remote from its free edge, is secured to said front part near the longitudinal center thereof.
 18. The menswear garment as defined by claim 16, wherein: said two insert pieces are secured to said front part, in the longitudinal center thereof, to both sides of a concealed fly.
 19. The menswear garment as defined by claim 18, wherein: said concealed fly is provided with a button strip.
 20. The menswear garment as defined by claim 11, wherein: said front and back parts are in one piece; and said back part has a gore extending from said waistband to said crotch area. 